Search Tip

Think about keywords related to travel, tourism, and public memory to start your search in the library's WorldCat catalog. When you find a good book on your topic in WorldCat, try the "More like this" subject links to find more books on the same topic.

Suggested Databases for Articles

Academic Search Complete is a comprehensive multi-disciplinary full-text database. Start your research for articles here! Tip #1:View an article's full record to read the abstract, or summary, and quickly decide if it is useful for your research. Tip #2: Use the subject links from the full record to find additional articles.

You must set up a free personal account while on campus and renew it yearly. NYTimes.com provides full access to New York Times and International New York Times content, and is updated 24/7 with corresponding time stamps. For instructions on how to set up your account go to the NYT Online LibGuide.

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

Where does the information come from?

Is the information supported by evidence?

Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?

Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: the reason the information exists

What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?

Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?

Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?

Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Websites

There are all sorts of sites related to travel, tourism, and public memory on the web. Here are a few official websites for popular destinations. How is the Disneyland site different from the others? Try using the CRAAP test to evaluate them.

MLA Citation Style

Complete your research by correctly citing all your sources. A citation credits the authors / creators of sources you used, and lets your paper's reader locate and verify these sources. MLA is the style and citation guide to use for this class.

Purdue OWL -- Online Writing Lab -- covers the basics of MLA formatting and style. For the most complete information, use the Handbook, available in the Research Commons and on Reserve.